Security Automation & Orchestration Engineer

Cognizant; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 115,000 - 134,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

401(k) plan and contributions

Paid holidays and PTO

Long-term/Short-term Disability

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Job summary

Cognizant is seeking an Automation / Orchestration / Security Engineer to design, build, and maintain security automation across SIEM, EDR/XDR, IAM, and cloud security. You will partner with Security Operations, Incident Response, IT, and Cloud/Platform teams to integrate tools and automate workflows.

The role emphasizes governance, RBAC, audit logs, and documentation, with responsibilities to develop SOAR playbooks, add logging and observability, and support incident response with evidence

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience in Automation Engineering, Security Engineering, Security Operations Engineering, or related roles.
• Strong programming/scripting experience with Python (preferred), PowerShell, or JavaScript.
• Experience with automation and orchestration platforms such as Ansible, Itential, VMware Aria Orchestrator, or similar tools.
• Hands-on experience with REST APIs, JSON, webhooks, OAuth2, token-based authentication, and mutual TLS.
• Working knowledge of SIEM concepts including log ingestion, correlation, querying, and SOC operations such as incident triage, escalation, and response.
• Strong understanding of IAM, endpoint security, network security, vulnerability management, and cloud security fundamentals.
• Experience with Git workflows, code reviews, branching strategies, and software testing practices.
• Strong documentation and communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Preferred Qualifications
• Experience with vulnerability management automation, remediation tracking, workflow automation, exception handling, and SLA reporting.
• Cloud security experience across AWS, Azure, and/or GCP.
• Familiarity with container and Kubernetes security.
• Experience integrating and automating actions within EDR/XDR platforms, including endpoint isolation, process termination, and quarantine operations.
• Experience with ITSM and workflow tools such as ServiceNow and Jira.

Responsibilities

• Design and deliver security automation and orchestration capabilities to improve response times and operational efficiency.
• Develop and maintain SOAR playbooks for alert triage, enrichment, containment, remediation, and response workflows.
• Build integrations with security tools including SIEM, EDR/XDR, IAM, vulnerability management, ticketing platforms, and cloud security solutions using APIs, webhooks, and event-driven architectures.
• Create reusable automation components such as scripts, libraries, and templates with proper logging, monitoring, error handling, and observability.
• Work with SOC and Incident Response teams to automate operational procedures and runbooks while implementing approval gates where required.
• Implement governance controls including RBAC, change management, audit logging, and documentation.
• Collaborate with infrastructure and engineering teams to automate security controls, compliance checks, policy-as-code, system hardening, and configuration drift remediation.
• Support incident response activities through automation for evidence collection, containment, and remediation while maintaining logging and chain-of-custody requirements.
• Ensure secure coding practices and implement safeguards to prevent misuse of automation workflows.
• Create and maintain documentation, operating procedures, runbooks, and knowledge transfer materials.

Skills

Automation Engineering

Security Engineering

Security Operations

Python

PowerShell

JavaScript

Ansible

REST APIs

Git workflows

Documentation

Tools

Itential

VMware Aria Orchestrator

ServiceNow

Jira

Kubernetes

Job description

Practice - CIS - Cloud, Infrastructure, and Security Services

About Cloud Infrastructure & Security Services: Cognizant’s Cloud, Infrastructure, and Security Services Practice (CIS), is all about embracing digital transformation by driving core modernization holistically across layers. We help customers transform infrastructure and workplace to meet the rapidly evolving needs of the digital era. Our holistic approach delivers key results for our customers by achieving cloud driven modernization and workplace and operational transformation to run the business in a secure environment.

Job Summary

The Automation / Orchestration / Security Engineer is responsible for designing, building, and maintaining security automation and orchestration solutions to improve security operations, reduce manual effort, and enhance response efficiency. The role works closely with Security Operations, Incident Response, IT, and Cloud/Platform teams to integrate tools, automate workflows, and implement scalable, auditable security processes.

Please note, this role is not able to offer visa transfer or sponsorship now or in the future

In this role, you will:

• Design and deliver security automation and orchestration capabilities to improve response times and operational efficiency.

• Develop and maintain SOAR playbooks for alert triage, enrichment, containment, remediation, and response workflows.

• Build integrations with security tools including SIEM, EDR/XDR, IAM, vulnerability management, ticketing platforms, and cloud security solutions using APIs, webhooks, and event-driven architectures.

• Create reusable automation components such as scripts, libraries, and templates with proper logging, monitoring, error handling, and observability.

• Work with SOC and Incident Response teams to automate operational procedures and runbooks while implementing approval gates where required.

• Implement governance controls including RBAC, change management, audit logging, and documentation.

• Collaborate with infrastructure and engineering teams to automate security controls, compliance checks, policy-as-code, system hardening, and configuration drift remediation.

• Support incident response activities through automation for evidence collection, containment, and remediation while maintaining logging and chain-of-custody requirements.

• Ensure secure coding practices and implement safeguards to prevent misuse of automation workflows.

• Create and maintain documentation, operating procedures, runbooks, and knowledge transfer materials.

What you need to have to be considered

3+ years of experience in Automation Engineering, Security Engineering, Security Operations Engineering, or related roles.

Strong programming/scripting experience with Python (preferred), PowerShell, or JavaScript.

Experience with automation and orchestration platforms such as Ansible, Itential, VMware Aria Orchestrator, or similar tools.

Hands-on experience with REST APIs, JSON, webhooks, OAuth2, token-based authentication, and mutual TLS.

Working knowledge of SIEM concepts including log ingestion, correlation, querying, and SOC operations such as incident triage, escalation, and response.

Strong understanding of IAM, endpoint security, network security, vulnerability management, and cloud security fundamentals.

Experience with Git workflows, code reviews, branching strategies, and software testing practices.

Strong documentation and communication skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with vulnerability management automation, remediation tracking, workflow automation, exception handling, and SLA reporting.

Cloud security experience across AWS, Azure, and/or GCP.

Familiarity with container and Kubernetes security.

Experience integrating and automating actions within EDR/XDR platforms, including endpoint isolation, process termination, and quarantine operations.

Experience with ITSM and workflow tools such as ServiceNow and Jira.

Knowledge of structured change management processes.

#LI-EF1 #CB #Ind123

Applications will be accepted until 8 Sep 2026.

Salary and Other Compensation:

The annual salary for this position is between $[114,500 - 134,000] depending on experience and other qualifications of the successful candidate.

This position is also eligible for Cognizant’s discretionary annual incentive program, based on performance and subject to the terms of Cognizant’s applicable plans.

Benefits: Cognizant offers the following benefits for this position, subject to applicable eligibility requirements:

Medical/Dental/Vision/Life Insurance

Paid holidays plus Paid Time Off

401(k) plan and contributions

Long-term/Short-term Disability

Paid Parental Leave

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Cognizant is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law.